WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) introduced legislation to expand grant funding for the salad bar in schools program and Ken Holthouse, owner and partner of Doug Walcher Farms, said he hopes the bill “puts this thing on steroids.”

In a crowded room on Capitol Hill June 3, Rep. Ryan joined Holthouse, scientists, a foodservice director, school children from Georgia and two other lawmakers in urging congressional staff to tell their bosses to support the legislation.Diane Harris of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; Ken Holthouse of Doug Walcher Farms; Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH); Stephanie Scarmo of Pew Charitable Trusts; Carrie Beegle of Cloverleaf Local Schools; and standing in front are two elementary school students from a Carrollton, GA, school.

The popular briefing organized by United Fresh Produce Association comes as Congress debates school nutrition reauthorization of child nutrition programs and some opponents are trying to repeal the requirement that school meals contain at least one-half cup of fruits and vegetables.

Rep. Ryan’s seven-page bill would establish grant funding to provide training, technical assistance and placement of salad bars in elementary, middle and high schools.

“We’re a sick country,” and the “sooner we admit that, the better we’ll be,” said Rep. Ryan. Also speaking in support of the bill was Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), who said the mounting health care costs mean “we have to grow healthier people.” Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) also spoke in favor of salad bars, recounting her experience as principal of a Florida school.

Holthouse, president of Ohio Producer Growers & Marketers Association, said the salad bar program is “not only helping the health of our country, it’s helping the health of our industry.”

Along with United Fresh, he said he’s helped donate salad bars in western schools, and just last week watched school-aged children select a variety of fruits and vegetables from a new salad bar. North Fairfield, OH-based Doug Walcher Farms grows, packs and ships vegetables from more than 1,500 acres of farms across six states.

Two children from Carrollton, GA, attended a White House garden event and brought their observations to the briefing. “There’s always something up there you like,” said one boy.

Studies show that school-based salad bars are very effective in introducing children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables at an early age, said Diane Harris, a health scientist at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, a partner in the Let’s Move program to expand salad bars. For example, one study found youth vegetable consumption was 48 percent greater in schools with a salad bar, she said.

On the issue of plate waste, Carrie Beegle, foodservice director for Ohio’s Cloverleaf Local Schools, said she instructs children to choose only items they plan to eat and she’s seen no uptake in plate waste.

Most schools, however, do not have funding for the equipment, Beegle said, and the grant program will help schools overcome that barrier.